In "Killings," Matt is a father with a broken heart after his youngest son is shot and killed. Matt finds it painful to see the man who committed the crime, Richard Strout, walking free after posting bail. While he makes plans for revenge with his friend, Willis, it becomes clear that Matt will regret his decision.

As Matt and Willis wait in the car for Richard to leave the bar, there is evidence in the text to show that Matt is second-guessing his plans. When Richard walks out alone, Matt gets out of the car, "giving up the hope he had kept all night (and for the past week) that Strout would come out with friends." If Richard had come out with friends, Matt would not have to follow through with his plans.

Once Matt is in the car with Richard, there is further evidence that Matt may regret his decision. Matt is concerned that he is unable to "be alone with Strout for very long, smell his smells, feel the presence of his flesh, hear his voice, and then shoot him." While in the car, Matt observes Richard's face, and it reminds him of his son's "doomed and fearful eyes looking up from the couch." Matt is considering what his son's eyes must have looked like on the night Richard shot him, providing further evidence that he struggles with the idea of killing Richard.

Although it is clear in “Killings” that Matt and his friend Willis have devised an elaborate plan to kill Strout, Dubus includes subtle clues that clearly indicate Matt’s reluctance to go through with it. The strongest of these clues can be found at the point in the story where Matt is waiting for Strout to get out of work on the night they plan to kill him: if Strout comes out alone, the plan will go forward; however, if Strout leaves the bar with friends, the plan will be aborted. Apparently, Matt hopes for the latter, and has been thinking along these lines for the past week (para. 79). However, when Strout leaves the bar alone, the plan goes into action; now that the wheels have been set in motion, there is no turning back.

At Strout’s house, Matt silently takes in the trappings of Strout’s life, noting the “presence” of Strout’s unnamed girlfriend, who has been alluded to several times in the story. Although Dubus tells us nothing about the girl other than the fact that she is Strout’s girlfriend, Matt seems to fixate on this. When he arrives home after the killing to tell Ruth that it is done, he brings up the girlfriend again as he relives the details of the night. It is clear that Matt will continue to wonder about this mysterious woman who will never know what has happened to her boyfriend. It is also clear that Matt will never forget the details of the two hours spent on the killing: the lies told to Strout, the dropping of the suitcase, the sudden darting movement, the explosion of the two gunshots (para. 166).